1. Neroni:
Tiberius; cf. I. 3. 2.
3. Tibure
vel Gabiis: i.e. as opposed to foreign slaves,
a verna sold at private sale. Cf.
Civis non Syriaeve Parthiaeve.
Nec de Cappadocis eques catastis
Sed de plebe Remi Numaeque verna.
--Mart. X. 76. 2 seq.
4. candidus:
of his complexion. pulcher:
of his form.
5. fiet
eritque: a double expression, as often in legal forms.
nummorum:
i.e. sesterces. milibus
octo: about $350 or $400, a common price for a choice
slave. Cf. Dig. XXI. 1. 57.
7. imbutus:
i.e. with just a smattering of. idoneus,
etc.: i.e. he has capacity for being educated in any art.
8. argilla,
etc.: i.e. he is young and docile, and you can make what
you will of him.
9. indoctum:
i.e. he has not been trained yet, but has a voice that
already is pleasing at a symposium, where not much is demanded.
10. multa,
etc.: i.e. I will say no more, for too many promises make
men suspicious when a man wants to get rid of any article.
12. res,
necessity. meo.
. .aere, but out of debt, opposed to aes
alienum. pauper,
in humble circumstances.
13. mangonum:
the regular slave-dealers. faceret:
i.e. would give you such a bargain.
temere. . .quivis,
any chance person; properly, without some special reason;
here, the desire to oblige a friend.
14. cessavit,
loitered, i.e. when sent on an errand. Cf. Sat.
II. 7. 100.
15. in
scalis, etc.: a mild case of running away. Cf. fuga,
v. 16. metuens:
with the genitive properly indicating the slave's disposition, but
in fact hardly to be distinguished from the use of the accusative.
pendentis:
i.e. hung up in terrorem.
habenae: the
lorum, or strap, from which one or more of the slaves was
called lorarius.
16. des:
apodosis to velit, v. 2. excepta:
the technical term for any express provision, mention, or exception
in a document or bargain. Here it is used of the exception of the
one fault from the general warranty which was implied in the sale
of a slave. Cf. Aul. Gel. IV. 2 and VI. 4.
17. securus,
without fear.
18. prudens:
cf. imprudens, the opposite.
vitiosum:
the slave would be erro, or fugitivus, either
of which tendencies would be a vitium. But this
fault having been mentioned in the contract, no action would arise
on account of it. lex:
i.e. the conditions of the sale.
19. insequeris:
etc.: another of the cases in which the simile is confused with
the object. Florus' action in regard to Horace amounts to the same
thing as the preceeding mentioned. moraris,
try to hold him, opposed to letting him go free from damages.
20. dixi,
I told you, with emphasis.
21. mancum,
incapacitated, properly, crippled in the hands.
22. rediret:
cf. reddere, used of delivering a letter, to which
verb redire forms a sort of passive. Cf. perdo,
pereo.
23. mecum
facientia: i.e. that are on my side. Cf. II.
1. 68. iura,
the law, i.e. the courts.
24. hoc:
referring to what goes before.
26. Luculli,
etc.: Horace answers this complaint also by an anecdote, extending
to v. 41 but the application is made in vv. 53, 54.
viatica, his
store, gained in service from pay and booty.
29. dentibus:
continuing the figure of lupus.
30. regale:
probably of King Mithridates. loco
deiecit, dislodged, a technical military phrase.
Cf. loco motus est, Cic. Cat. II. 1.
ut aiunt,
as the story goes. Cf. I. 7. 49.
31. munito:
i.e. so that it could with difficulty be taken by storm
(best translated with praesidium).
divite, etc.:
i.e. so that it could with difficulty be taken by siege.
The whole indicates the desperate valor of the soldier.
32. donis:
such as crowns, chains, arms, or bosses (phalerae), which
were the "medals" and "crosses" of ancient times.
33. dena:
the regular distributive used in multiplication.
34. praetor,
the commander, the original meaning of the word. Cf. Sat.
I. 5. 34 and note.
35. nescio
quod: the words disparage the difficulty of the undertaking
in comparision with the preceding. eundem,
the man.
36. verbis,
in language. timido
quoque: i.e. and still more a valiant veteran
like him.
37. bone,
my good friend. i
pede fausto: both a good wish and an assurance.
38. laturus:
cf. Sat. II. 1. 12. quid
stas: cf. Sat. I. 1. 19.
39. rusticus,
unlearned, as a countryman. He had, however, a native shrewdness.
40. zonam,
his wallet, a belt with pockets in it, in which, in the
absence of modern pockets, the ancients carried their valuables.
The whole, of course, means that such courage comes only of desperation.
The man who is well off will run no such risk.
41. Romae,
etc.: the poet proceeds to show how his case is parallel with that
of the soldier. mihi
contigit, I had the luck. In these advantages
he corresponds to the soldier with his original competence.
42. iratus,
etc.: i.e. he learned the Iliad. Cf. II. 1. 171
and note.
43. bonae
artis, liberal education.
Athenae: cf.
Athenis iam diu doctrina ipsorum Atheniensium interiit; domicilium
tantum in illa urbe remanet studiorum quibus vacant cives, peregrini
fruuntur, Cic. de Orat. III. 11. 43. The better class
of Roman young men seem to have gone to Athens to complete their
education, as our young men go to Europe.
44. scilicet,
that is to say. possem:
others read vellem with about equal authority.
curvo:
jocosely put for pravo, representing the line of
vice as opposed to the straight course of virtue; imitated by Persius,
4. 12.
45. inter
silvas, etc.: the Academic school is put for philosophy
in general. quaerere:
no doubt with reference to the sceptical turn of the later Academy.
46. dura
sed emovere, etc.: the parallel to the soldier's misfortunes.
tempora:
i.e. of the war between Octavius and the party of Brutus
and Cassius. loco:
cf. v. 30 and note.
47. civilis.
. .aestus, the tide of civil war.
rudem belli,
a raw recruit. in
arma, among the forces, i.e. the
side of Brutus and Cassius. Cf. Od. II. 7. 10, and Sat.
I. 6. 48.
48. non
responsura, doomed not to cope with. Cf. Cic.
Cat. II. 11. lacertis,
the strong arm.
49. dimisere,
discharged, a technical word.
50. decisis,
clipped. inopem,
etc.: a shorthand way of saying in poverty deprived of, etc.
51. audax,
barefaced.
52. ut
versus, etc.: neither this nor any of the statements
her are to be taken too literally. Horace had no doubt written before,
and there is no reason to believe that he ever wrote for money.
But disappointed in his first hopes of advancement, and having had
a taste of life with the great, he must seek a career, and was forced
to this one. His success in this is his desperate storming
of the royal fortress. sed
quod, etc.: i.e. he has now won his decorations
and booty, and, like the rustic soldier, fights no more. quod:
equivalent to tantum ut with the verb impersonal,
wherewith to keep from want.
53. quae
poterunt, etc.: i.e. his fever must be incurable,
if he does not give over writing. cicutae:
apparently used as a remedy, like many poisonous plants. Cf. fit
ex eo (semine cicutae) et ad refrigerandum stomachum malagma,
Pliny, N. H. XXV. 153 (95).
55. singula
de nobis, etc.: another reason why Horace does not
write. singula
praedantur, take each its prey.
56. eripuere:
these they have already stolen. ludum:
used generally of all amusements which require youthful spirits
for their enjoyment, but especially poetry.
57. tendunt:
i.e. having destroyed other capacities, they have begun
to attack his creative power in poetry. extorquere:
apparently indicating that this capacity dies hard, but still it
is doomed. quid
faciam vis: que voulez-vous? a submission
to the inevitable.
58. denique,
etc.: another excuse (rather than reason) is that he cannot satisfy
all tastes, and so does nothing.
59. carmine:
i.e. odes. iambis:
i.e. epodes.
60. ille,
etc.: i.e. satires. Bioneis:
Bion was a Scythian philosopher of caustic wit and cynical disposition,
who lived about B.C. 250. sale
nigro: as wit is common salt (cf. Sat.
I. 10. 3), this kind is caustic potash (cf. Sat.
II. 4. 74).
61. prope,
almost like, the figure and the object being identified
as usual.
63. quid
dem, etc.: keeping up the figure to the end; 'whatever
I serve will be distasteful to two out of three.'
65. praeter
cetera, etc.: another excuse (though the excuses gradually
become serious reasons) is found in the occupations and disturbances
of the great city.
66. curas:
i.e. things to think of. labores:
i.e. things to do.
67. sponsum
(supine): cf. Sat. II. 6. 23. auditum:
cf. Sat. I. 4. 23 and 73; Ep. I. 19. 42. For a
picture of the same thing later, cf. Pliny, Ep. III.18.
relictis,
etc.: indicating the urgency of the invitation.
68. cubat:
cf. Sat. I. 9. 18.
69. visendus:
such visits seem to have been regarded as a duty then, more even
than nowadays.
70. intervalla:
about a mile each way (hence the plural), and up and down two rather
steep hills. His whole walk to visit the two would be about four
miles. humane,
for a poor mortal. commoda:
ironical. verum,
etc.: Horace ironically says in answer to his own objection, "but
one can study on the way"; cf. Sat. I.9.2.
71. purae,
clear. meditantibus,
the work of the poet, an almost technical word of persons
engaged in literary composition. Cf. v. 76, and Phoebo meditatnte,
Virg. Ecl. VI.82.
72. festinat:
with emphasis, on the contrary (or why!) the
contractor, etc. calidus,
in hot haste; cf. fervet opus, Virg. Æn.
I. 436. mulis,
etc.: referring to the loads drawn or carried through the streets.
The streets, though closed to wagons except at night, were open
to public contractors for transportation at all hours. For the crowded
streets later, cf. Juv. III.243 seq.
redemptor:
cf. Od. III. 1. 35.
73. machina:
i.e. a derrick hoisting the materials for building, poetically
regarded as hurling them through the air.
74. funera:
the same state of things is alluded to as being noisy in Sat.
I. 6. 43.
76. i
nunc, etc.: i.e. if you can, after what I've
told you. Cf. I. 6. 17.
77. scriptorum,
etc.: i.e. poetry requires a freedom from distractions,
and a harmonious environment suited to the inspired condition of
mind in which the poet worships Bacchus and the Muses. These words
refer to the din, as the preceding refer to the obstructions, of
the streets.
78. rite:
i.e. as he has always been; cf. I. 19. 4.
cliens Bacchi:
cf. Od. III. 25, esp. v. 19.
80. contracta:
i.e. the narrow path which needs repose of mind and close
application to follow it.
81. ingenium
sibi, etc.: i.e. a man under the most favorable
condition for study often comes out as dumb as a graven image, and
is only laughed at. How then should Horace expect or desire to try
poetry in the storm and stress of actual affairs of Rome? He would
be more ridiculous in the eyes of the world than the other. In other
words, the pursuit of literature in the right spirit doesn't pay
nowadays among these scribblers that plaster each other with praise.
ingenium, a man of talent, as often. The
tone of these words suggests that some notable example is meant.
vacuas,
deserted, i.e. by all actual life, the home of
quiet study.
82. studiis:
i.e. chiefly philosophy and rhetoric.
83. libris:
dative; cf. I. 7. 85. The idea is of becoming a bookworm.
curis, meditation;
cf. quo tandem gaudio adfici necesse est sapientis animum cum
his habitantem pernoctantemque curis (Natural Philosophy, Ethics,
and Dialectics). Cic. Tusc. V. 24. 69.
statua: proverbial.
taciturnius,
etc.: i.e. a mere day-dreamer.
84. hic
ego, etc.: i.e. when such is the result of
a liberal education in the academic stillness of Athens, should
I undertake to write poetry in the very whirl of affairs, and make
myself a laughing-stock for the public who do not understand the
necessary conditions of success in so difficult a branch of art?
85. tempestatibus,
the stormy life.
86. motura,
to wake, i.e. to be sung to the accompaniment
of the lyre. conectere,
to weave the web of, etc.
87. frater
erat Romae, etc.: i.e. another reason is that
one by writing poetry becomes a member of the mutual admiration
society, and must flatter the other members of the guild and so
expose himself to hear their writings. It is implied that this guild
is composed of persons who have no real knowledge of what the profession
really is, and how much application it demands; cf. v. 109. The
instance is no doubt drawn from life. frater: apparently
equivalent to an adjective, or to talis frater.
It has been suggested that a line has been lost, uter Alterius
laudum sic admirator, etc.; but it is dangerous to rewrite
Horace even to avoid a harsh construction.
88. meros
honores, nothing but tributes of praise.
89. Gracchus:
both Tiberius and Gaius were famed as orators.
Mucius: the
Mucius Scaevola family was famous for its lawyers.
90. qui
minus argutos, etc.: i.e. the same craze of
mutual admiration possesses the poets. For the phrase, cf. Sat.
II. 3. 311. argutos, tuneful. Cf. Od.
III. 14. 21; IV. 6. 25. An epithet almost ornamental, but referring
to the poets as opposed to the practical men of the two political
professions in which puffing might be excused. Cf. the references
to the poetical clique in Sat. I. 10.
91. carmina:
cf. v. 99. elegos:
cf. v. 100.
92. caelatum,
wrought, as if the work were in silver.
adspice: i.e.
first notice our important air, opposed to sequere,
etc., v. 95.
93. fastu.
. .molimine, a proud and pompous air.
circumspectemus:
in Homer, who dates back to a time when the prepositions were still
adverbs, and had not yet become attached to the verbs at all, they
are frequently found separated even by several words. In later times
this usage was thought to be a poetical figure, and was imitated
or allowed as such, so that in Latin, in which the prepositions
had long been firmly attached, they are sometimes found divided
as here. Cf. the cere---comminuit---brum of Ennius. The
word refers to the air of the poets as they survey the temple in
which they are to recite for each other's delectation.
94. vacuam,
opened, left vacant for them to recite in.
95. mox:
i.e. when they are under way in their poetic compliments.
procul:
cf. Sat. II. 6. 105 and note.
96. quid
ferat, etc., what each has to offer, i.e.
what tribute of praise each brings. For an example, though of a
later time, cf.
Dum centum studet auribus virorum
hoc quod saecula posterique possint
Arpinis quoque comparare chartis. -- Mart.
X. 19. 15 (addressed to Pliny).
nectat,
etc.: cf. Od. I. 26. 8.
97. caedimur,
etc.: we belabor each other in turn blow for blow with strokes
of compliment, like Samnites in a hard-fought bout, etc. The
give and take of compliment is compared to the alternate assaults
of gladiators. Cf. Sat. II. 6. 44.
98. lento,
etc.: i.e. the lingering bout between two well-matched
conbatants, lasting till dark.
99. discedo,
come off, used with reference to the supposed encounter.
Alcaeus:
whom Horace follows as his model; cf. v. 91.
puncto: cf.
the manner of voting at the Roman elections.
100. Callimachus:
an Alexandrine poet, chiefly famous for his elegies; cf. v. 91.
Propertius claimed to be the Roman Callimachus, and may be alluded
to here, but it may be anybody else. si
plus, etc.: i.e. if this does satisfy his
vanity, I will go higher and call him a Mimnermus (B.C. 632), the
first and greatest of elegaic poets.
101. crescit,
grows in greatness.
102. multa
fero, etc.: i.e. I bear a great deal, from
the vanity of my fellows, when I undertake to write, which I am
relieved from by my own silence. irritabile,
sensitive, so that I am obliged to praise them in order
not to anger them.
104. mente
recepta: as if poetry were a craze; cf. Sat.
II. 7. 117.
105. impune:
with obturem; i.e. he can then refuse
to hear bad verses, without fear of suffering from the poet's revengeful
criticism.
106. ridentur,
etc.: a concession, the real statement being contained in gaudent,
etc.
107. ultro
laudant, begin themselves to praise.
108. beati,
in blissful self-conceit.
109. at
qui, etc.: i.e. but the mental attitude of
the real poet is far different; he is the most rigid censor of his
own work. fecisse:
not different from the present infinitive.
110. tabulis,
book, with a double meaning, at once the Censor's list
and the poet's tablets. honesti,
conscientious.
111. splendoris,
etc.: Horace has in mind throughout the action of the Censor in
detail, but does not feel bound to keep to it consistently.
112. honore:
cf. splendoris and note.
113. movere
loco, turn out (i.e. of his poetical
vocabulary), a technical expression of the act of the Censor in
degrading an unworthy person. invita,
etc.: i.e. though they have a strong hold on the language.
114. et
versentur, etc.: i.e. and still linger at
Rome in the common use of the people. But why Vestae?
Servius (to Ae. vii. 153) says: ad Atrium Vestae conveniebat
(senatus). If this statement can be relied on, no doubt Horace,
keeping up the figure, makes the words linger, like an expelled
Senator about his meeting place. Other views have been suggested.
One possible view refers to the domestic expressions of the fireside.
Every one knows how many collqouial expressions are retained in
the family circle. But Vesta is not certainly shown in Latin to
represent the household hearth. The best way seems to be to take
the phrase as referring to the 'heart' of the Roman people, i.e.
in common use.
115. obscurata,
etc.: i.e. the poet in his search for a fresh and vigorous
diction will restore to use good old words that were picturesque
but have slipped out of use. The figure of the Censor is half preserved
here also. populo:
i.e. in common use. bonus:
as opposed to his severity towards the unworthy.
eruet, will
unearth.
116. speciosa:
i.e. vidid and picturesque.
117. quae
priscis, etc.: cf. II. 3. 50.
118. situs,
neglect, originally of things left to die and gather rust
from want of care and use (hence informis).
informis,
uncomely, as producing that effect.
premit, obscures,
keeps out of use. deserta,
forsaken, i.e. their age has caused the words
to be abandoned.
119. genitor,
creative; cf. II. 3. 71.
120. vehemens
(two syllables), strong. The whole idea is taken from a
river.
"Though deep yet clear . . .
Strong without rage; without overflowing, full." --
Sir John Denham.
The style is to be rich and strong, but still clear.
121. opes,
a stream of wealth.
122. luxuriantia:
i.e. excess of ornament. compescet,
prune, as a too luxuriant growth of vegetation, of which
the word is often used. aspera,
roughness, as of a statue or the like.
sano, i.e.
with moderation, not so as to produce a namby-pamby polish.
123. virtute
carentia: cf. parum splendoris and
sine pondere. tollet,
elevate, i.e. by a little forcing, so as to give
a loftier tone to common things. Cf. Quint. X. 4. 1; VIII. 6. 11;
Cic. de Orat. III. 26. 104; but cf. Sat. I. 4.
11.
124. ludentis,
etc.: i.e. the result will be apparently an easy style
and a light touch, which, however, the writer can gain only by a
serious effort.
125. Satyrum,
etc.: i.e. a pantomimic actor performing a part which seems
comic to the spectators, but is to him a very serious and difficult
business. Cf. Athenaeus, XIV. 28. movetur:
cf. saltaret, Sat. I. 5. 63 and note.
126. praetulerim,
etc.: i.e. as if Horace would say that after all it might
on the whole be better to be self-deceived like the vain poets of
the day than to have sound ideas and suffer the consequent worry.
delirus:
i.e. follish in his ignorance of what has just been laid
down as rules. iners:
i.e. clumsy in his efforts to write.
scriptor,
as an author, i.e. if I should write.
127. delectent,
etc.: cf. Sat. I. 3. 39, where, however, the two ideas
are put, naturally, in the opposite order.
128. ringi,
be in agony, on account of his own imperfections.
fuit, etc.:
an anecdote showing that sometimes a delusion is more comfortable
than a sound mind.
129. credebat,
etc.: in this consisted the man's monomania.
131. cetera,
etc.: showing his sanity in all other respects.
servaret:
a quality of the man, whereas credebat only states
a fact about him.
134. signo:
cf. Od. III. 8. 10. laeso:
i.e. when a slave has broken the seal of a jar, and drunk
the wine.
135. rupem,
a precipice; cf. Sat. II. 3. 56 seq.
136. cognatorum:
cf. the case of illness described in Sat. I. 1. 80, and
ibid. v. 88.
137. elleboro:
cf. Sat. II. 3. 82. bilem:
as the cause of madness. meraco:
i.e. as if Horace said, "by the free use of strong
draughts of the medicine," like "by a thorough course
of."
138. redit
ad sese: cf. non sum apud me, Ter. Phorm.
204, and ad te redi, Adelphi, 794.
occidistis:
cf. II. 3. 467. pol:
the introduction of this word gives a comic turn to the whole, showing
that the man himself is not serious.
139. sic,
in this way, i.e. as they had done.
141. nimirum:
introducing the final reason for his literary inactivity, the same
as given in I. 1. The connection is loose, and seems to hang merely
upon the word sapere used in v. 128. As if Horace
said, "speaking of wisdom, doubltess the most serviceable wisdom
is to let such things alone, and study philosophy."
nugis: cf.
nugarum, Sat. I. 9. 2, and ludicra, I.
1. 10.
142. pueris:
belonging both to tempestivum and concedere,
as often in Latin. ludum:
cf. I. 18. 66; 14. 36; I. 1. 3 and note; Sat. I. 10. 37;
Virg. Ecl. VII. 17.
143. ac
non verba, etc.: cf. v. 86; Od. IV. 3. 23;
Ep. I. 3. 12.
144. numerosque
modosque: a common mode of expression, here used with
conscious reference to v. 143. Cf. I. 18. 59.
145. quocirca,
etc.: i.e. therefore, having given up verse-making, I devote
myself silently to moral improvement.
146. si
tibi, etc.: i.e. if you had the symptoms of
dropsy (to himself).
147. quod
quanto, etc.: i.e. if you have symptoms of
the moral dropsy of avarice, do you refrain from seeking advice?
Cf. Od. II. 2. 13.
149. si
volnus, etc.: i.e. you would avoid a remedy
if you found it did no good; and will you still seek wealth as a
cure for folly when you have found by experience that it is useless?
151. audieras,
etc.: the application of the parallel.
155. at
si, etc.: an indirect proof that riches do not give
wisdom.
158. si
proprium, etc.: an examination into the nature of property,
in which Horace shows that in both of the two ways in which property
is acquired all the wealth which serves your purposes is really
yours. libra
et aere: the conventional form of conveyance at Rome
(per aes et libram). This process, a relic of the earlier
payment of money by weight, required five Roman citizens as witnesses
and a weigher (libripens), before whom the parties appeared.
With a set form of words the buyer claimed the property (manu
capere) and pretended to weigh a piece of money which he handed
over to the seller. This worked a mancipatio, hence mancipat.
159. consultis,
the learned lawyers. mancipat:
i.e. passes the property, or makes a title.
160. pascit:
i.e. for this constitutes the usus in
the sense in which Horace takes that word, though the preceding
verse is only true in the other, the technical, sense, i.e.
of adverse possession, prescription (usu capio). Cf. Cic.
ad Fam. VII. 30. usus:
here used in the sense of usucapio. Cf. the two
preceding notes. vilicus
Orbi, etc.: here the poet proceeds to show that the
enjoyer practically owns the property even by the first method,
for he buys it by degrees. Orbi: an unknown person,
probably a famous nabob of the time, or a rich neighbor of the poet.
vilicus: cf. I. 14. 1.
161. segetes,
field, properly the growing crop. occat:
put for all the operations of husbandry. tibi:
because you will buy it.
162. te
dominum sentit, recognizes, etc.; in so far
as he knows that he works for your advantage.
164. fortasse
trecentis, etc.: i.e. which cost a very much
larger sum.
166. numerato,
etc.: i.e. whether with money paid from day to day for
provisions, or paid earlier as the price of the estate.
167. emptor
quondam, the sometime purchaser; see Grammar
§ 207, note. Here begins the converse of the argument. "The
lord of the acres is in the same condition as you, for he has simply
bought his dinner like you."
168. putat:
see Gr. § 313 g.
170. sed
vocat: i.e. his property rests only on an
erroneous notion; he calls it his, but it is not.
usque: i.e.
this is the extent of his claim, "all the way to where, etc."
populus:
the beginner will notice the quantity. The line of poplars forms
the boundary.
171. limitibus:
means or manner of refugit.
vicina, with
the neighbors. refugit:
this word has been questioned, and seems a little out of place.
But to avoid lawsuits by the marked limits of a man's property is
certainly not very different from preventing them. This idea may
then very well be ascribed to that which marks the bounds instead
of to the proprietor. tamquam,
as if forsooth; introducing the facts which show the folly
of the proprietor's idea.
172. puncto:
cf. Sat. I. 1. 8.
173. morte
suprema: cf. supremo fine, II. 1. 12.
prece, etc.:
i.e. it is liable to be given away, sold, stolen, or resigned
at death.
174. in
altera iura: cf. Sat. II. 2. 134.
175. perpetuus
nulli, etc.: cf. nulli proprius, Sat.
II. 2. 134.
176. alterius:
i.e. the first possessor, himself the heir of another,
is followed by his own heir. undam:
the construction is rare, but the accusative is governed by the
preposition in composition, perhaps a colloquial irregularity.
177. vici:
apparently used for the group of buildings on a farm. Cf. Cic. ad
Fam. XIV. 1. 5. As it only occurs in this sense in Cicero's
letters, it may be colloquial. horrea:
as representing great crops. Calabris,
Lucani: representing great flocks in pastures. Cf.
Epod. I. 27.
180. sigilla,
statuettes.
181. Gaetulo:
cf. Tyri praecipuus hic (sucus muricis) Asiae, in Meninge
Africae et Gaetulo litore Oceani, in Laconia Europae, Pliny,
N. H> IX. 127 (60).
182. sunt
qui, etc.: i.e. that the objects of wealth
are not indispensable is shown by the fact that many do without
them, and there is now and then one who has no desire for them.
est
qui: probably (not necessarily) the poet himself.
183. cur
alter, etc.: the suggestion of the difference of tastes
leads Horace to ascribe it with a kind of wonder to an inexplicable
inborn difference of temperament existing even in the case of own
brothers. It is as if Horace said: "Why men differ, the Lord
who made them only knows, but they do." Cf. Sat. II.
1. 26. cessare,
etc.: i.e. contented idleness as opposed to hardly won
wealth represented in palmetis.
ungi: as the
making of alcohol was unknown to the ancients, their only vehicle
for perfumes was oils; here put as a mark of luxury.
184. Herodis:
Herod the Great. Cf. regnum (Iudaeorum) ab
Antonio Herodi datum victor Augustus auxit, Tac. Hist.
V. 9. The wealth and fertility of the region were proverbial.
palmetis:
cf. primus Idumaeas referam tibi, Mantua, palmas, Virg.
Georg. III. 12, and Iudaea vero incluta est vel magis
palmis, Pliny, H. N. XIII. 26 (6). The income of the
palm groves must have been very large.
185. importunus,
insatiable, instant in season and out of season.
186. mitiget:
cf. pacantur, I. 2. 45; urges, I. 14. 26; rastris
terram domare, Virg. Æn. IX. 608. The idea is, bring
new lands under cultivation.
187. Genius:
cf. II. 1. 144 and note. comes:
attendant, as an adjective with Genius.
temperat,
regulates, mixing in due proportion the good and evil influences
of the planets at one's birth. astrum
(natale), the horoscope.
188. deus:
here treated as a single divinity. mortalis,
etc.: here again regarded as manifest and mortal in each man's life.
Such contradictions were not at all troublesome to the ancients.
Cf. Our Lady of Lourdes, or this, that, and the other in modern
times.
189. voltu
mutabilis, etc.: in so far as it is manifest in various
characters of individuals. albus
et ater: vaguely used as well for character as destiny.
190. utar,
etc.: the mention of the two extremes of self-indulgence and avarice
leads Horace as usual to proclaim his doctrine of the middle course
between prodigality and hoarding. There is an emphasis on utar
(enjoy, instead of hoarding).
modico: i.e.
which I do not care to increase Cf. Sat. I. 1. 51.
192. plura
datis, more left him, literally, more than
what is left. Cf. I. 5. 13.
193. scire
volam: i.e. to realize, and act accordingly.
simplex,
guileless, i.e. not duplex, with
no undercurrent of selfishness, according to which the man would
be after the main chance through all his actions.
hilaris, the
cheerful spirit, as opposed to the prodigal.
195. spargas,
etc.: like the nepos. neque
sumptum, etc.: like the free-handed and unavaricious
hilaris and simplex.
197. puer,
etc.: i.e. act like a boy in the holidays, enjoying to
the full the brief time allotted to enjoyment. This is opposed to
parare, and is a part of the alternative with an.
raptim:
i.e. making haste to enjoy, on account of the brevity of
the time.
199. pauperies,
etc.: i.e. if only I am free from wnat, the amount of my
possessions is immaterial. pauperies: not absolute
want, but straitened circumstances, such as to deprive the poet
of the elegancies (munditiae) of a refined life.
domus
procul: a genitive of separation after the manner of
the Greek. But the reading is doubtful. Some editors simplify matters
by omitting domus and inserting modo.
immunda,
squalid or unrefined. utrum
nave, etc.: a shorthand expression, where, as in so
many cases, the figure is confused with the object. "I care
not whether I am rich or poor, but shall live my life in either
case, just as I should not care whether I went in a big ship or
a little one, for I should finish my journey essentially the same."
The idea on which the double question depends is implied in ferar
unus et idem.
201. non
agimur, etc.: keeping up the figure of the voyage.
tumidis,
etc.: i.e. in prosperity I cannot carry so much sail.
non tamen,
etc.: i.e. but then, on the other hand, I am not so much
exposed to the storms of adversity.
203. specie,
display, "style." Cf. I. 6. 49; or perhaps, beauty.
204. extremis,
etc.: the figure is derived from a race.
205. non
es avarus: i.e. but thus far only one vice
has been treated, and there are others to be regarded also. Cf.
Sat. II. 3. 159. abi,
pass on then; i.e. so far there is no fault to be found.
208. somnia,
etc.: cases of superstition. Cf. Sat. II. 3. 281 seq.
209. Thessala:
the Thessalians were famous for magic. Cf. Od. I. 27. 21;
Epod. V. 45.
210. natalis,
etc.: i.e. do you thankfully rejoice in the years as they
pass, without repining at increasing age? Cf. I. 11. 22; I. 4. 13.
ignoscis
amicis: i.e. have you a good temper? Cf. Sat.
I. 3. 84.
212. quid
te levat, what relief do you get? a medical
expression. Here the Stoic doctrine of the unity of virtue crops
out. spinis:
cf. I. 14. 4.
215. tempus
abire, etc.: not necessarily here a recommendation
to suicide, though such an idea would be quite in accord with ancient
philosophy. Cf. Lucr. III. 938.
216. decentius:
i.e. in which wanton behavior is more becoming.
aetas: i.e.
youth, to which the old man would become a laughing-stock if he
indulges too freely in the follies of youth.
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